Alfonos Zamora vs Thomjit Sukothai
Classic American West Coast Boxing
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
Re: Ray "Windmill" White- The Fighting Carpenter .
Another great story. Thanks RogerRick Farris wrote:Dagos . . .
I knew Ray pretty well, and fought on the undercard of his 1971 fight against Roger Rouse, in fact I remember "Windmill" from the beginning of his mid-60'debut at the Olympic.
Like most in L.A., I got my first look at this most unorthodox boxer, when he appeared in a televised prelim. I was watching the fights with my grandfather, and we couldn't believe what we were seeing! This guy would flaps his arms by the side of his body like a bird and then let go of his famed "Rooster" punch, which was both gloves slapping against the side of his confused opponents body, repeatedly. He would then slowly step back, make a face, stick out his toungue and smile at them.
This, of course, would infuriate most boxers, and some would charge after him. Occasionally, he'd catch a solid shot, but if he did, he took it well. Once, I saw him catch a jab from Terry Lee, at the Valley Music Theatre. The punch hit Ray square in the face, he stepped back, and began to rub his nose, a ringsider told me he heard White scream, "OW! That hurts!" He'd make silly faces, usually exagerating his reaction to his opponents offense.
Was "Windmill" White crazy?
Well, I didn't believe the guy was crazy, that is at first. I could see that White was a very awkwardly tough boxer, one that was surprisingly hard to hit, he was able to gauge his distance, somehow appearing to be within the opponents range, but actually, perfectly positioned to make a guy look like a fool.
I thought Ray White was a great showman, and a deceptivly skilled fighter, that could take a punch if hit, and come back to take control.
However, one afternoon at the Main St. Gym, I guess around 1970 or so, Ray "Windmill" White convinced me that he was CRAZY.
One day, Ray White stepped into the ring with Jerry Quarry, for a couple of "light" rounds of sparring. I rarely saw Quarry go light on anybody, having brutalized little brother Mike in the gym on a regular basis for years.
To my surprise, Jerry just moved and jabbed against the lighter White, moving his head, not letting go with the jolting right cross, or lethal left hooks. Jerry was just going to warm up with "Windmill", and I guess Ray either assumed that Jerry's kindness was weakness, or that the "Bellflower Bomber" might have a sense of humor??? Who knows?
Shortly after the start of the second round, Jerry continued to jab & move, occasionally allowing White inside to throw body punches. The moment White stepped inside Quarry, he grabbed Jerry, turned his back, put his arm around Quarry's neck and hit him with a "behind-the-back" punch.
Quarry was furious. He picked up Ray at the waist, and literally tossed him into a corner, as "Windmill" bounced off the turn buckle, Quarry dropped his left shoulder and dug a short hook into the side of Ray's body. I still can hear the thud of the blow. White fell to his knees, holding his side in agony.
Quarry was fuming, he stood over Ray cursing him, daring him to rise. I thought he was going to kick the balding fool as he moaned in pain on the floor. Ray suffered a couple of broken ribs.
A year or so later, Mike Quarry defeats White over ten rounds. Ray wasn't considered a KO puncher, but a few guys I knew said he could crack pretty good. After the fighting White, I asked Mike about Ray's power. Quarry replied, "The only time the co__sucker hurt me, was when he bit me on the neck during a clinch."
I got to know Ray personally in 1969, while I was still amateur. Ray trained a couple of brothers, bantamweights I fought before turning pro. The brothers names were Florentino & Refugio Ramirez.
Ray was a very nice man, and a pain-in-the-ass for opponents to deal with. I had no idea when I first saw"Windmill" White, that the "Clown Prince" of boxing would actually defeat top rated contenders.
-Rick Farris
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
I had always wanted to see Julio Cesar Chavez fight in person,but by the time he was champ his fights were in Vegas. Vegas is too fast for me,so I figured I'd watch him on HBO. Then he announces he's going to fight Danilo Cabrera at the Caliente Race Track in Tijuana. Now I'm going.
I round up a friend and we drive down there. We leave early so we have time buy a seat. Well we get down there,and as usual they screwed things up. Only one ticket window. The line goes back to the Pacific Ocean,so now my buddy wants to go home. "No way"I tell him. "We're in Mexico. There's always a way to get around things"
I'm pretty familiar with the track. I know in the back there's a gate in front of the place where they put the greyhounds. "Come with me. I'll get us in"
I figured there'd be a couple of cops there. They wouldn't leave the gate unprotected. So I go up to one of the cops and say to him(in Spanish)"Excuse me,but that line is awfully long. Is there any way me and my friend can pay you for the tickets instead of standing in line?"
The cop looks out at the parking lot and says to me"Yes,put the money in the pickle weed"
"Why put it there?
"Well amigo",he says,"I'm a city cop. The state police are probably watching me. If they see that I take money from you ,they'll come over and take half of it"
General admission is 10 bucks,so I pull out a twenty and put it in the pickle weed. Now we're inside. The cheap seats were way high up and I noticed that the ringside seats were only half occupied. They went for 150 and I figure that was too steep for down there. Well they had this custom of turning on all the ringside lights between rounds. When the round started they would turn off half the lights so you couldn't see anyone at ringside and so on.
I looked at my buddy. "Want to sit ringside?"
"How are you going to pull that off?"
"Just follow me and don't lag behind"
Well Chavez and Cabrera are in the center of the ring listening to the ref's instructions. All the lights are on. They return to their corners waiting for the bell. There's a ten second buzz and then the bell. Half the lights go dark and the ringside seats are invisable.
"Go",I shout and haul ass down the stairs to the ringside seats. Me and my pal and a thousand other Mexicans! There's about ten cops standing there,but there's no way they're going to interfere. They look like those bull fighters doing a Paso Robles. Ole! What a time we had getting inside that place. By the way,Chavez kicked the sh-- out of Cabrera.
I round up a friend and we drive down there. We leave early so we have time buy a seat. Well we get down there,and as usual they screwed things up. Only one ticket window. The line goes back to the Pacific Ocean,so now my buddy wants to go home. "No way"I tell him. "We're in Mexico. There's always a way to get around things"
I'm pretty familiar with the track. I know in the back there's a gate in front of the place where they put the greyhounds. "Come with me. I'll get us in"
I figured there'd be a couple of cops there. They wouldn't leave the gate unprotected. So I go up to one of the cops and say to him(in Spanish)"Excuse me,but that line is awfully long. Is there any way me and my friend can pay you for the tickets instead of standing in line?"
The cop looks out at the parking lot and says to me"Yes,put the money in the pickle weed"
"Why put it there?
"Well amigo",he says,"I'm a city cop. The state police are probably watching me. If they see that I take money from you ,they'll come over and take half of it"
General admission is 10 bucks,so I pull out a twenty and put it in the pickle weed. Now we're inside. The cheap seats were way high up and I noticed that the ringside seats were only half occupied. They went for 150 and I figure that was too steep for down there. Well they had this custom of turning on all the ringside lights between rounds. When the round started they would turn off half the lights so you couldn't see anyone at ringside and so on.
I looked at my buddy. "Want to sit ringside?"
"How are you going to pull that off?"
"Just follow me and don't lag behind"
Well Chavez and Cabrera are in the center of the ring listening to the ref's instructions. All the lights are on. They return to their corners waiting for the bell. There's a ten second buzz and then the bell. Half the lights go dark and the ringside seats are invisable.
"Go",I shout and haul ass down the stairs to the ringside seats. Me and my pal and a thousand other Mexicans! There's about ten cops standing there,but there's no way they're going to interfere. They look like those bull fighters doing a Paso Robles. Ole! What a time we had getting inside that place. By the way,Chavez kicked the sh-- out of Cabrera.
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elmersalsa
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 15652
- Joined: 02 Feb 2003, 03:50
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
Hey Young Fella it's like this. I'm Italian through and through. My wife is Mexican through and through. When we got married there was nothing really to adjust to. I'd been living that Latin life all the time. It's funny,but when I'm down South I connect better. My wife and I have built a beautifull house in her home town of Jiquilpan, Michoacan. "Mi rincon del cielo" I mean this. If some day you want to know a place where there is peace,friendly people,no crime,no grafitti nor gangs,kids having respsct for their elders,no franchise stores or restaurants. A place that time has passed by,let me know. I'll call my nephew and he'll give you the key. You and your wife can feel at home in our house. The food down there is unbelievable. Just let me know. Rogerkikibalt wrote:Dagoed
It looks like you know your way around T.J, and also how to have a good time in T.J.
Btw, my wife and I lived in San Diego from 1993-1996.
Frank
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dagosd2000
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 8638
- Joined: 01 Sep 2007, 03:31
I've been dying for something like this since I signed up. We'll never run out of stories.elmersalsa wrote:this got to be the thread of the year...Boxing history of the west coast at its best!!!
My pal Bobby who owns the Elbo Inn in National City shared an Archie Moore story with me. Here goes.
When Bobby was a kid,he came down with TB. He told me he was around twelve. They put him in the County Hospital because his family was poor. They were migrant farm workers. Bobby was with the other kids in the TB ward. Well 'ol Arch would drop by the hospital and always make a point to visit the kids. Archie was their hero and it was right before his fight with Marciano.
Bobby tells it like this. Archie promised win or lose that the first thing he'd do when he got back to San Diego was to visit the kids. Bobby said the kids in the TB ward were listening to the fight on the radio. Bobby said everybody got all excited when Archie knocked down Marciano,but as the fight wore on and Marciano started punishing their hero and knocking him to the canvas,some of the kids started crying. Bobby said we all felt awfull when he lost.
The next afternoon the nurse walks into the ward and says to the kids they have a visitor. Bobby told me Moore came walking into the room with a big smile on his face and shouted"How's my fan club?" Bobby said the kids were screaming like crazy. 'Ol Arch was all swollen up,his eye was closed,but he never seemed in better spirits. Bobby told me that Archie was as happy as the kids. Bobby figured Archie needed a lift so he went to the hospital to visit those sick boys. Besides Archie had promised them.
Bobby is pretty sick now. His ticker is giving out. They say he sits in the park mostly with his friends. I bet Bobby has told them that story.
Frank,
If you don`t mind me asking, what kind of a woman was Aileen Eaton? I have heard that she was one tough cookie when it came to the negotiating table and all, but did she have a soft spot for fighters in general? Was she personable and friendly with people or was it the opposite? I ask because I have heard conflicting accounts about her, and if anyone would know I reckon it would be you. I also recall reading a long time ago something to do with her possibly involved in Howie Steindler`s death, although I may be wrong on this because it was many years ago .
If you don`t mind me asking, what kind of a woman was Aileen Eaton? I have heard that she was one tough cookie when it came to the negotiating table and all, but did she have a soft spot for fighters in general? Was she personable and friendly with people or was it the opposite? I ask because I have heard conflicting accounts about her, and if anyone would know I reckon it would be you. I also recall reading a long time ago something to do with her possibly involved in Howie Steindler`s death, although I may be wrong on this because it was many years ago .
Lausse,Lausse wrote:Frank,
If you don`t mind me asking, what kind of a woman was Aileen Eaton? I have heard that she was one tough cookie when it came to the negotiating table and all, but did she have a soft spot for fighters in general? Was she personable and friendly with people or was it the opposite? I ask because I have heard conflicting accounts about her, and if anyone would know I reckon it would be you. I also recall reading a long time ago something to do with her possibly involved in Howie Steindler`s death, although I may be wrong on this because it was many years ago .
Aileen Eaton was indeed a tough cookie when it came to neotiating contracts, I think, no, I know that she had a soft heart for fighters that were down on their luck, because I seen her help them with money more then onces, out of respect I will not name said fighters.
She also knew have to go around the fighters and their managers with some of their demands. I remember when we sign the contracts for Frankie's fight with Bazooka Limon, Limon and his manager would not sign unless they would get more money then us, we sign a contract for less money then Limon, the night of the fight we got a second contract that gave us a % of the gate, so now we have two contracts and we lose the fight LOL!
The fact is I liked her , but you had to be tough with her too, because if she could get your fighter for nothing, she wouldn't think twice about it, she was that kind of a person.
Frank
Bennie,bennie wrote:Thanks, Frank. Jesse was surely one of the unluckiest light-heavies ever. They robbed him a million times.kikibalt wrote:I'll see if I can fine out for you.bennie wrote:Does anyone know how Jesse Burnett is these days?
I made some calls and nobody seem to know where he is or what he is doing nowdays.
Sorry I coundn't be of any help.
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Rick Farris
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7200
- Joined: 15 Feb 2008, 16:04
A Tony Baltazar memory . . .
A TONY BALTAZAR MEMORY . . . June 23, 1966
Occasionally, we see things that that stamp a permanent impression in our minds. This is one of them, at least for me.
It's Thursday. I'm fourteen years old, and about to fight in the 1966 Jr. Golden Gloves finals, at the Olympic Auditorium on the following night.
I had a lot to be excited about. On Friday night, I was going to fight at the Olympic Auditorium for the very first time! That was as big as it got for me. I would go to sleep at night, from the time I was ten-years-old, dreaming of one day fighting at the Olympic, and hearing Jimmy Lennon Jr. announce my name.
However, that was tomorrow, on this thursday night, the Olympic was showcasing a major fight card, featuring the recently drafted, unbeaten Pvt. Joey Orbillo vs. Eddie Machen. I forget who fought in the televised main that night, but the six round prelim featured my favorite up & coming boxer, Mando Ramos (who nobody knew was still only 17).
My dad asked if I wanted to go, and you know what my answer was.
The Olympic was packed, wall-to-wall, every seat filled. The smoke from cigars and cigarettes wafted upward toward the ring lights, the bright TV lights above the cameras, against the edge of the balcony illuminated the powder blue ring, giving the whole arena an etherial kind of quality. It was as if the Olympic existed in another world, I don't know, you just had to feel the electricity in the air on this night.
Some hot lady and her man would stroll down to their ringside seats and the largely Latino crowd would roar and whistle. The woman acted shocked, but she loved it. You could tell.
I waited by the dressing before each fight, hoping that Mando Ramos, or Orbillo, might brush against me as they stepped out of the dressing room on their way down to the ring.
Mando made quick work of Jerry Stevens, flattening the Irishman in less than one minute. A stand-by bout filled the remaining minutes before the
the intermission proceeding the main event.
When the intermission came, both the live audience and thousands of TV fans were treated to a preview of the following nights Jr. Golden Gloves Championships.
The youngest boxer challenging for a Jr. GG's title friday night would be 5-year-old Tony Baltazar. Tony was introduced by Jimmy Lennon Jr. in the ring during the intermission. Baltazar climbed under the ropes like a little pro, wearing a customized boxing robe made from a Mexican Zarape.
When Lennon announced Tony's name, the kid raised his arms just like Mando Ramos had done in the earlier match, let his robe fall into his papa Frank's hands and began to put on a shadow boxing exhibition that would have done Sugar Ray Robinson proud.
The crowd roared, rose to their feet and gave little Tony a standing ovation. The future lightweight & welterweight contender bowed to the crowd, and with Frank Baltazar Sr. at his side, climbed out of the ring.
On the next evening, Tony Baltazar would become a champion.
Anybody who watched Little Tony Baltazar at the Olympic, on either night, knew they were watching something special. The future would prove them right.
I gotta lot of pleasuring watching Tony Baltazar over the years. To this I must thank his father, and my friend, Kiki.
-Rick Farris
Occasionally, we see things that that stamp a permanent impression in our minds. This is one of them, at least for me.
It's Thursday. I'm fourteen years old, and about to fight in the 1966 Jr. Golden Gloves finals, at the Olympic Auditorium on the following night.
I had a lot to be excited about. On Friday night, I was going to fight at the Olympic Auditorium for the very first time! That was as big as it got for me. I would go to sleep at night, from the time I was ten-years-old, dreaming of one day fighting at the Olympic, and hearing Jimmy Lennon Jr. announce my name.
However, that was tomorrow, on this thursday night, the Olympic was showcasing a major fight card, featuring the recently drafted, unbeaten Pvt. Joey Orbillo vs. Eddie Machen. I forget who fought in the televised main that night, but the six round prelim featured my favorite up & coming boxer, Mando Ramos (who nobody knew was still only 17).
My dad asked if I wanted to go, and you know what my answer was.
The Olympic was packed, wall-to-wall, every seat filled. The smoke from cigars and cigarettes wafted upward toward the ring lights, the bright TV lights above the cameras, against the edge of the balcony illuminated the powder blue ring, giving the whole arena an etherial kind of quality. It was as if the Olympic existed in another world, I don't know, you just had to feel the electricity in the air on this night.
Some hot lady and her man would stroll down to their ringside seats and the largely Latino crowd would roar and whistle. The woman acted shocked, but she loved it. You could tell.
I waited by the dressing before each fight, hoping that Mando Ramos, or Orbillo, might brush against me as they stepped out of the dressing room on their way down to the ring.
Mando made quick work of Jerry Stevens, flattening the Irishman in less than one minute. A stand-by bout filled the remaining minutes before the
the intermission proceeding the main event.
When the intermission came, both the live audience and thousands of TV fans were treated to a preview of the following nights Jr. Golden Gloves Championships.
The youngest boxer challenging for a Jr. GG's title friday night would be 5-year-old Tony Baltazar. Tony was introduced by Jimmy Lennon Jr. in the ring during the intermission. Baltazar climbed under the ropes like a little pro, wearing a customized boxing robe made from a Mexican Zarape.
When Lennon announced Tony's name, the kid raised his arms just like Mando Ramos had done in the earlier match, let his robe fall into his papa Frank's hands and began to put on a shadow boxing exhibition that would have done Sugar Ray Robinson proud.
The crowd roared, rose to their feet and gave little Tony a standing ovation. The future lightweight & welterweight contender bowed to the crowd, and with Frank Baltazar Sr. at his side, climbed out of the ring.
On the next evening, Tony Baltazar would become a champion.
Anybody who watched Little Tony Baltazar at the Olympic, on either night, knew they were watching something special. The future would prove them right.
I gotta lot of pleasuring watching Tony Baltazar over the years. To this I must thank his father, and my friend, Kiki.
-Rick Farris